Base-ball mask.



8. C. APRIL.

BASE BALL MASK.

APPLICATION mzo MAR. I0. 1916.

Patented Nov. 7,1916

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To all whom it may concem: Be it known :that I, SA C. ,AERIL, a

citizenbf States; and a irfiSidept t iffij whih thelglapt Wvh'ichli faste ed 0 he hee -15w s 'tte i fi tin qp ag 6895 -9 t etdmttie tt i birzg mm: sh by i etpq eg wag be een the gfiafd pdrtion and the porti gnmthet gges o gtp the Mai-Which,xfopthepn pose 9i dentlh in ent m lwth t sl ei #9- P 39 videf a mask in which Ithe Whle fdevl p'e 1s en any kitm t w toiii'hi ifp ay igthe mndsi mnd m and n e d-by g y eqns, the; form:sho wt e'fior'v secui'ing the pa'dg feolixsistiilg dfEthe tabs 28 secured to the 1 31 t .Whlphritflit be ad .11 ted as tolt-s, length, and

the e gt pa te -9 1 ng gmet m s d nq b ,l QQP b t in e t m Sh wn th J' lnts e. S QWn' s "wh th y app a ifi r ing wthat mooth smlt jg provided. The .lewe'iw. end. bjf the rear v.jstrtu idl, which-forms the redr d f hfiw u'a ipo i 2m ec nst l t ed as at 153 "sons to guard the: chin" 6f the wearer .q'f the mask; fl'lhe head portion, h h S- hat parta goes. nmwh 'he d, a f l$ lb difi tfi lty sflh 0118 shQ-Wn haidngzt'wipe ifranie 'cbns is t'ing of vertieql stmn'd's "1 and i 'i whi h n be onn ed fiion; a d @r' tpr h a t i 1 which t a a the bezid p ctly ab v h s= y In addition thereto 1 is Customary to arttan ge gipishigns pi epg ds' 22 which .arqllnd 1 the thdhea'dl-po ti ar a ntst p a'dgwhieh tbbs embnace the vertiepl strahds I6 imdil? .vqi f the headpieceend We connect; ed h'y'fhces24; which form i2}: SQ1new11 3\-t pet".- manellt'; attaching means, blut Whieh ,cal} be fle iledifthe :pfds are to, be renewed or rem rsi- -A "The "Tfmme of the head piece has straps thqtjgg-dver theutop ahdbgmek 0f1t'he 1 1ea'd, thefusual strands. beingas shown, consisting 91ft aiherizontalhead strap 25 connectingthe twq esf 1 e d P- Q l. M the xefticalhegtdkstnap hieh is eoniiectedfthestmp 251% thdback and "extends c 'he sl puto an -taken :jfi: The two ljga sk, thatis the head pgrtipp d1 portion, are eohnected 'vbv .hv b esi ng-attempt nt pes dtetweh fmesh s kamsi ii l meh cgnpeetedte the 1 ar ch .18, 11y having a buckle 27 by zmeztns of gai hiiklelZS is attqbhedto' bbth "sides good results, but in order to clearly illustrate the invention I have shown springs as employed in this connection.

In Figs. 1 and 2 I place the springs 29 at desired points on the mask, these springs being fastened to the head portion and the body portion, the securing means shown in the drawing consisting of disks or small caps 30 to which the springs 29 are fastened as by passing the ends 31 of the springs through loop portions in the sides of the caps 30, the caps 30 being fastened, as at 32, to the vertical strand 14 of the guard portion and to the vertical strand 16 of the head portion, although the springs can be fastened inother ways and to other parts of the device, if desired. In the old form of masks, the blow delivered to the guard por tion or the front of the mask is transmitted directly to the head of the wearer, this bothering the player very much because the blow in many cases is a severe one and often temporarily incapacitates the player, and it is possible to have a serious injury inflicted by such concussion. Furthermore, the lack of any yielding means in the mask has a tendency, on very severe blows, to break the wire strands in the mask and the force of such blows causes the wire strands to disfigure and injure the face of the wearer, such injury and disfigurement having occurred in ball games where a solid mask is used. I am aware also that pneumatic pads have been used on masks, such pads resting against the face of the wearer and being designed to take up the shock. Such pads, however, have not been any more satisfactory than a solid mask because when the device is attached to the head, in order to firmly secure it to the head the fastening means must be tightened so that an initial compression is placed upon the pneumatic pads, which compression takes up the major portion of the resiliency, and any blow coming on the front of the mask, instead .of causing an initial compression on the pneumatic pads, transmits the blow through the pads which are already compressed. It thus follows that a mask with pneumatic cushions that is put on tight enough to be secure on the head will compress the cushions to an extent that a blow delivered to the mask is not modified any more than it is when the ordinary stuffed pad is used. In my device the degree of tightness applied to the fastening means has no effect on the resiliency of any shock-absorbing elements that are placed between the head portion and the guard portion, whether such shock-absorbing elements be pneumatic or of spring metal.

In Fig. 3 I illustrate a modified form of spring, such spring 33 being integral with one of the strands, such as 12, of the guard portion and being secured in any suitable manner, such as by welding, to one of the strands, such as 16, of the head portion.

In Fig. 4 I illustrate a strip which is bent into spring loops as at 34, these spring loops being suitably fastened, as at 35, to the marginal edges of the guard and head portions, if desired, such spring strip bent into spring loops extending all around the mask between the head portion and the guard portion so as to equalize the pressure on the springs.

In Fig. 5 I show a still further modification, the telescopic members 36 and 37 being adapted to be tel-escoped, such telescopic ac tion being limited, particularly in an outward direction, by a pin 38 fitting in a slot 39. These members that are telescopic are preferably cylindrical and contain a spring 40 which bears against the ends of the members so as to have a tendency to force them apart, these telescopic members in turn being fastened to the guard portion and the head portion, the springs being concealed, and in case it is desired to use light springs, the telescopic members have the function of holding the guard portion against sagging on the head portion and it is not apt to vibrate when it is held by light springs. It is my intention, as a rule, to use springs strong enough to hold the guard portion against ordinary vibration when being worn on the head.

The head portion and the guard portion in this construction can be made as solid as desired, the guard portion being adapted to distribute the impact or blow, which it receives, among all the springs by means of which it is held, so that no one part of the mask is apt to be broken by the blow, and the pressure delivered after the springs are compressed is distributed over a wide surface, and when the pads 22 are used the effect on the head is slight and there is very little liability of injury or inconvenience.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A mask comprising a head portion, means for holding the head portion firmly on the head, a guard portion, and shockabsorbing elements arranged between the head portion and the guard portion, such elements being arranged to normally hold the portions apart.

2. A mask comprising a head portion, means on the head portion for securing it to the head of a person, a wire guard portion conforming in general outline to the outline of the head portion and being adapted to be normally spaced therefrom, and shockabsorbing elements placed between said portions and being secured to said portions to yieldingly hold them spaced apart.

3. A mask comprising a head portion consisting of an'open frame, means on the head portion for securing it firmly to the head of a person, a guard portion, and springs secured to sand guard portlon and to said head portion, sa1d springs be1ng adapted to be compressed when the portions are moved to-- Copies of this patent may be obtained for ing it to the head of a person, a substantially rigid guard portion, and comparatively resilient elements arranged between the guard portion and the head portion to materially absorb the force of a blow delivered on the guard portion.

6. A mask comprising a head portion, a guard portion, and shock-absorbing elements arranged between the head portion and the guard portion and adapted to be compressed when said elements are moved toward each other.

'In testimony that I claim the foregoing, I hereto set my hand, this 9th .day of March,

SAUL O.- APRIL.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

